Another bloody rampage

Friday

Sep 20, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Disclosures in recent days have made Monday's nightmare at the Washington Navy Yard seem even more horrifying. It appears there were numerous red flags that the gunman, Aaron Alexis, was mentally ill and...

Disclosures in recent days have made Monday's nightmare at the Washington Navy Yard seem even more horrifying. It appears there were numerous red flags that the gunman, Aaron Alexis, was mentally ill and should have had his clearance revoked. Instead, the 34-year-old Texan was able to enter the Yard with a shotgun and an I.D. from his job for a private contractor. There, he killed 12 people and wounded eight. Before he could kill more, the former Navy reservist was shot dead.

This terrible event had a strong Rhode Island angle. While doing work in Newport just last month, he told police he was hearing voices of three people who were supposedly harassing him, strange behavior the police reported to Newport Naval Station. But nothing was done to prevent the tragedy.

This followed a long record of disturbing incidents while he was in the Navy Reserves, from which he was honorably discharged in 2011. He had been arrested at least twice for firing shots in anger, though some who knew him described him as “sweet,” “quiet” and a “good boy," perhaps a reminder that basically good people suffering from mental illness can behave out of character and become dangerous. While working in Lower Manhattan more than a decade ago, he joined rescuers at the World Trade Center on 9/11.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel was right Wednesday to order reviews of military security and employee screening programs.

The shooting — one in a series of mass murders using guns in recent years — prompts some other questions, of course. Notably, why are guns are getting into the hands of people who should not have them? Why is our society failing to care for seriously ill people who, if treated, might lead decent lives that threaten no one? Finally, why does our justice system fail to protect the public from those who engage in dangerous behavior with guns, as this shooter did before the final bloodbath?

While we wait for further details, our hearts go out to the families of the dead and all who serve our country. This round of killing is yet another blow to our nation’s spirit.